Coast Guard Chief Eyes Narco-Navy Threat

Last week, the White House released a new counternarcotics strategy for the U.S.-Mexico border that calls for better intelligence and new surveillance technology to stem the flow of drugs, weapons and cash between the two countries. But according to the head of the U.S. Coast Guard, Mexico’s vulnerable southern border is an equally serious concern.

In a conversation with Danger Room, U.S. Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Thad Allen said that between 75 percent and 80 percent of all the cocaine moving toward the United States – on go-fast boats, fishing vessels, and narco-submarines — first goes to Mexico, where it can be broken into much smaller packages that are harder to detect.

“The southern border that should be of concern to us as well is Mexico’s southern border, between Mexico, Honduras and that area with Belize,” he said. “Once those products get into Mexico, a couple things happen that really, really increase the problem set for Mexico and the United States. Everything gets distributed into smaller loads, and it’s much harder to identify and intercept. And number two, the drug trafficking organizations are increasingly paying off their transportation people and folks in Mexico with drugs instead of money. So they are creating a user population in Mexico that creates another corrosive effect.”

Earlier this week, Allen traveled to Key West with Obama drug czar Gil Kerlikowske to visit Joint Interagency Task Force South, an organization under U.S. Southern Command that was created in 1989 that allowed the Defense Department to get into the counternarcotics business. While the military doesn’t have law enforcement power, it can use intelligence to cue up targets for law enforcement. Allen said the seizure of a sub carrying 10,000 pounds of cocaine last year by the Mexican navy (pictured here) was a textbook example of how the task force could share intel to intercept larger shipments before they reach a transit point.

As Noah has pointed out before, U.S. Southern Command has become a test bed for a number of interesting experiments. Some of those involve new technology, like using drones to detect traffickers. But equally important are non-traditional organizations like JIATF South that can share information among military, law enforcement and intelligence agencies — as well as with allied countries. “They actually have created a separate and distinct culture,” Allen said. “If there ever was a place to put a petri dish, I guess Key West would be it.”